Carbon credits offset carbon pollution put into the atmosphere by everyday personal and business activities. The intent is to neutralize all or some of your contribution to global warming. In recent years, carbon credit availability has increased to a level sufficient to paralyze the discriminating shopper. There are, however, recognized ways of ranking and selecting carbon credits, and organizations whose mission is to help you do so.

Ranking and Choosing Appropriate Offsets

Select carbon credits most effectively by first calculating your carbon footprint, for which there are a myriad of applications online. Start with the EPA's Household Emissions Calculator. A single person's offset needs will differ substantially from those of a small business or large corporation, which may need to undertake a more comprehensive audit.

Select and rank only high-quality carbon offsets. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, key criteria for rating the quality of an offset include a valid methodology (certification standards), third party verification (projects meet standards), permanence of emission reductions, and assurance that offsets cannot be sold twice. EDF recommends carbon offset programs based on these criteria, as does the Carbon Fund.

Shop using comparison data because the number of credits you'll need can affect the price you are able to obtain. For example, whereas the cost of individual offsets in may range from $5 to $15/metric ton, e-BlueHorizons offers discounted prices to businesses for volumes over 1000 metric tons.

Communicate your actions. Whether you are simply doing the right thing or are embarking upon a green corporate responsibility strategy, you can make the most of your offsets by touting, or tweeting, your actions to others. CarbonFund.org offers a CarbonFree Partner program to businesses, which provides comprehensive communications tools, including use of their logo, blogs, social media, and PR expertise.

Tip

Additional criteria for carbon offset projects include contribution to local communities, ecosystem health and biodiversity conservation. See the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance Standards, listed under Resources.

Warning

All carbon credits are not created equal. Do your research to ensure that what you purchase will actually result in permanent beneficial effects rather than negative future PR.

About the Author

K. Gregg Elliott is a conservationist, writer, dancer and exerciser who has been writing since 1998. She has been published in "California Coast & Ocean," "Bay Nature," "BARK" and "Best Women's Travel Writing 2007." Elliott has a Master of Arts in science policy from George Washington University and a bachelor's degree in biology from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.